Not a RIGHT, but an obligation, to fight.
Our predecessors risked everything to protect a woman’s right to choose. If we want, we can defeat the Stupak amendment.
I am reading an inspiring book, Wherever There’s a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California. From free speech rights to the gay rights movement, the book recounts numerous stories of civil rights activism in California and the efforts of those who risked everything for freedom.
I have been reading the book in the aftermath of the Stupak Amendment and have been inspired and motivated by its amazing stories. One fight that the book highlights is the dynamic struggle Californians have fought for abortion rights.
The book tells the following story of brave pro-choice activists, which I hope will serve as a poignant reminder that ours is not the first generation to fight, and win, the battle for choice.
Richard Orser was a medical school student when in 1962 he became involved with Clergy and Counseling Service for Problem Pregnancies. Orser had become aware of the problems with abortion access after working with the mentally disabled and meeting patients who were forced to give birth despite not being able to care for their children.
In 1968 Orser (who had become a full-time college psychology instructor at the time) became involved with the free universities program and began to offer a class on how to obtain abortions. The class soon became popular, especially with couples. Orser instructed participants on abortion costs, abortion alternatives in California, and how to obtain a safe abortion in Mexico. Additionally, Order helped his students make arrangements for safe abortions in Mexican clinics. The activist went as far as to travel to Mexico to inspect clinics and personally meet doctors.
(Note: while doing research for this piece I was shocked to find out that Richard Branson was involved with a similar operation in Brittan early on in his career. Check out this video for more.)
Orser’s services were so popular that he was hardly paranoid about security, and simply used an alias as his only precaution. All that changed when he received a call one night from a couple who had recently attended one of his classes. After assisting the couple in making arrangements with a Mexican clinic, police stormed into Orser’s apartment and arrested him and his roommates. The couple were actually undercover cops who had set Orser up.
Besides being imprisoned and convicted (of violating section 601 of the CA Business and Professions Code), Orser lost his teaching credentials as a result of the arrest. Despite these set-backs, he did not give up the fight to help those who needed abortions. He founded the Problem Pregnancy Information Center, and conducted psychological tests to pay the bills.
While Orser was risking everything to help women access safe abortions, two fellow Californians were also challenging the abortion ban by teaching women how to preform self-abortions.
Fueled by rampant stories of death and serious infection resulting from attempts to self-abort, Pat Maginnis and Rowena Gurner distributed instructions they had received from a doctor on safe self-abortion. The women distributed thousands of copies of the letter before beginning to offer classes on self-abortion up and down the California coast.
(Note: this is in no way a promotion of self-abortion. However it should be noted that the type of political climate in the pre-Roe days forced activists to make this information available. If we want to prevent this from happening again, we must fight for expanded access.)
Although a cop once told them that they would not be arrested for their activities because they were “too hot” the couple was eventually arrested and convicted of advertising abortions.
The ACLU represented all three to appeal the convictions. All convictions were eventually overturned on the basis of the First Amendment.
The stories of these three brave activists demonstrate the willingness that many had before Roe v. Wade to not only defend the ability a woman has to make her own decisions, but to protect the well-being of women. These activists and others have risked job loss, imprisonment, harassment, and more to secure for this country the rights that many now take for granted.
There are Senators who care passionately about reproductive rights, many have been fighting this fight since Orser. On Meet the Press Maddow recently stated that she has faith in such Senators: “if it took a Democratic President 60% majorities in the House and Senate of Democrats in order to get that I think you can expect Democratic women to sit on their hands at least, if not revolt if that doesn’t get taken out in conference.”
What do we as activists risk by fighting for the removal of the Stupak Amendment? Very little, if anything. What do we have to gain? Expanded access. Given all that our predecessors were willing to do to secure safe abortions for those who needed them, what right do we have as feminists to become discouraged and not do everything in our power to block this legislation?
We CAN win this battle, and we will, if activists are willing to work hard. We may not stand to risk much, but we should fight as though we do.
As I recently said on my Facebook page, this fight started yesterday. If you are ready to join and want some resources to get you started these will help:
- Sign the Petition, Send a Hanger. This is one of the most popular online petitions against the amendment. Sign today!
We CAN DO IT!
1freewomyn
wrote on 19 November 2009 at 19:38
This was a really inspiring post, Janice. I really appreciated how you connected these historical activists to the current fight against the Stupak amendment. And that quote from Rachel Maddow is the best!